Ed Sheeran had 'hard slog' to the top

Ed Sheeran had a ''hard slog'' working his way through the music industry to the BRIT Awards

Ed Sheeran had a "hard slog" getting to the BRIT Awards.

The 20-year-old singer - who famously slept on friends and fans' couches after gigs as he made his way around the country in his early days - leads nominations at this year's awards with four nods, and admits it's been a much harder journey to the top than if he'd appeared on a TV talent show like 'The X Factor'.

After scoring his nominations at last night's (12.01.12) launch in London, he told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I can't wait for the big night - I'm going to be partying hard with Example, which will be messy. I did the hard slog gigs route to get where I am today rather than 'X Factor'.

"And I get paid more than 'X Factor' people, too. But I don't take anything away from bands like [former contestants] One Direction. They work just as hard as I do now."

Ed scored nominations for Best Male Solo Act, Best Breakthrough Act and Mastercard British Album of the Year for his debut, '+', while his debut track 'A Team' was nominated in the Best British Single category, but he insists he has no plans to make a big speech should he win.